(Almost) Everything Zoopaya

In the Lotus Sutra, which is the principal (but not the only) Sutra of the Tendai school, there is a concept set forth which is called “Upaya.” Sometimes translated as “Expedient Means,” and sometimes (more accurately) translated as “Skillful Means,” the essence of this concept is that the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and those who are on the Bodhisattva Path, will skillfully employ parables, analogies, explanations and other useful ways of teaching Buddhism that help mortal sentient beings understand and take up the practice of the Dharma. Sometimes Upaya takes the form of a “provisional” teaching which sets forth ideas that are later superseded by deeper concepts, depending upon the readiness of the hearer to grasp difficult truths. Sometimes it takes the form of “tough love,” like a parent who “grounds” an unruly child for their own good. And in Buddhist iconography, sometimes it takes the form of the various Buddhas and Bodhisattvas who manifest themselves as the archetypal energies which most appeal to mortal humans. But in all cases, the motivating spirit of Upaya is compassion for human suffering, and a desire to help them grasp and practice the Dharma which leads to Liberation.

The more I contemplate the principle of Upaya, the more it seems to me that almost everything can be understood as an expedient to help people understand the Dharma. For example, if a person is prone to anger, then any situation which focuses their mind on the negative effect their anger has on other people, can be understood as Upaya. Without explicitly using Buddhist labels and terminology, the “Cause and Effect” relationship between their behavior and their outcome (i.e. “Karma”), is thus Upaya in action— Buddhism without orange robes, so to speak. And so forth— the possibilities for the application of Upaya are endless.

Of course, there are some people who, for various reasons related to their own suffering, seek to defame the Buddha-Dharma by denouncing the principle of Upaya as “the end justifies the means,” implying that Buddhists are encouraged by this concept to do anything to “convert” other people to Buddhism. But this is clearly a misunderstanding of the Dharma, and perhaps an intentional defamation to mislead others about the real nature of Buddhism. The principle of Upaya does not extend to acts of immorality or unethical behavior. For example, the use of coercion or violence to spread the Dharma is NOT an acceptable form of Upaya; the Buddha clearly rejected the idea of a “Holy War,” and Buddhists regard these two words as mutually exclusive. Likewise, lying, cheating, stealing, and other forms of immorality can never be misconstrued as forms of Upaya.

So, not everything is Upaya. But within the bounds of morality and ethical behavior, the possibilities for using the everyday circumstances of life to teach Buddhism are almost endless. It is the ideas which are important, and not the specifically Buddhist words and labels associated with them.

The concept of Upaya can also be understood as a means of comprehending the proliferation of world religions. Buddhism is NOT a possessive or triumphalist faith— there is no doctrine which says that “unless you believe XYZ, you are doomed,” or any similar kind of thinking. Indeed, Buddhism generally regards any belief system which helps people build good Karma (and thus enhance their chances for a rebirth under circumstances favorable for the attainment of Enlightenment), as something which is generally positive. Consider this passage from the Lotus Sutra, in which Shakyamuni Buddha explains the many Buddha-manifestations:

“Good man, if there are living beings in the land who need someone in the body of a Buddha to be saved, Bodhisattva Perceiver of the World’s Sounds immediately manifests himself in a Buddha body and preaches the Law for them… If they need a voice-hearer to be saved, he immediately becomes a voice-hearer and preaches the law to them… If they need King Brahma to be saved, immediately he becomes King Brahma and preaches the law to them… If they need a rich man to be saved, immediately he becomes a rich man and preaches the Law to them… If they need a monk, nun, layman believer or laywoman believer in order to be saved, immediately he becomes a monk, nun, layman believer or laywoman believer and preaches the Law to them…. If they need a vajra-bearing god to be saved, immediately he becomes a vajra-bearing god and preaches the Law to them.”

You get the idea. In this wide world of many religious faiths, it is unreasonable to expect that the whole human race will one day subscribe to a single belief system, and perhaps it is totalitarian to work for such an outcome. But through a deep understanding of the principles of Upaya, Karma, and Samsara (rebirth), the Buddha-Dharma provides us with a profound way of understanding not only Buddhism, but also how ALL of the worlds faith traditions, participate in the work of helping sentient beings attain Liberation from suffering.

Almost everything is Upaya. Like this web site, for example.